Swirling winds have delayed the launch of NASA's latest super pressure balloon (SPB) from Wanaka Airport.

The flight aims to test and validate the balloon technology in so-called near- space and had been scheduled for lift-off between 8am and 11.30am this morning.

However, NASA postponed the launch early this morning because a swirling wind eddy in the stratosphere, 33.5km above the earth's surface, made it hard to predict where the balloon would travel.

"Unfortunately, there's too much uncertainty in the final trajectory forecast given the nearby eddy pattern in the stratosphere," said Gabe Garde, mission manager for the 2017 Wanaka Balloon Campaign.

The team will continue to look for a launch date and hope the balloon can stay up for up to 100 days, setting a record.

The first balloon launched from Wanaka Airport in 2015 achieved 32 days of flight, with 46 days notched up in 2016.

The current record flight for such balloons is 54 days.

It is about the size of the Forsyth-Barr Stadium in Dunedin, when fully inflated and is made from polyethylene film, similar to that used in sandwich bags but is stronger and more durable.

A special launch pad has been built.

The University of Chicago has an extreme universe space observatory being tested on this year's flight.

NASA says it's working closely alongside Airways, New Zealand's air navigation service provider, to ensure minimal impact on normally scheduled aircraft operations and facilitate safe passage of the balloon through controlled airspace.